So much to be thankful for!

We are so unbelievably blessed! God has added quite a few new little ones to our family this year! Our newest addition is Thomas. He was adopted by Mark's cousin Kristen and her husband Dev just a couple of months ago. He is precious. We are so happy for them! And of course I have to brag on my niece and nephew, Charlie and Will Beckler. They were chosen as two of the miracle babies to light the Christmas tree at TC Thompson's Children's hospital. God has held them in his hand over the past few months and they are thriving! You can't tell that their Beppie and Bear are proud grand parents.haha!
And I can't leave out pics of my own little one. I am so thankful for a healthy, vibrant (good word for very busy!), loving little boy. He is a constant reminder of the goodness of God. Here he is helping me put up the Christmas tree in his little blue "jommies".

I think he actually liked the tree box better. This may be a foreshadowing of Christmas!

I've never seen a kid so in love with tractors. This is his all time favorite toy, his John Deere tractor. He literally will spend hours at a time on this little tractor. I also need to mention that I am thankful for such a hardworking and loving husband. I am so incredibly proud of him. He passed his licensure exam to teach-so praise God!

First Birthday and lots of treats!

Jackson turned 1 year old on Friday October 26th! I can't believe it has been a year. We had his party at the house. Our close family and friends came to watch as Jackson devoured (actually just played) his moo-cow cake!

Here is Jackson with one of his good buddies Elli Grace peeping over his highchair stealing a dab of icing. She's a character! Jackson received many much needed age appropriate toys for his birthday...thanks everyone! His aunt Lala, Uncle Jason and cousin Jase gave him his first red wagon.

It's amazing how our small group of friends has grown. There are kiddos everywhere!
This is some special time with his dada. Jackson loves music.

Couldn't leave this out! We were playing in the bathtub. This gave us a great idea for Halloween....
Jackson was Mr. T for Halloween. He wasn't too thrilled about it at the moment.Here I am with one of my good friends, Corey. Some of our friends from church had a Halloween party for all the kids.

Speaking of kids...please be in prayer for Jackson. He has developed some food allergies. It's very frustrating (and scary!) not knowing what he can eat without having a reaction. We saw the doctor today for blood work to determine his main allergies. Which God has used this to remind me to be thankful in all things...especially in the fact that Jackson is a generally healthy little boy...what a blessing. Also please be in prayer for Jackson's cousin, Jase. He will be having dental surgery in a couple of months.

Happy fall Ya'll

Happy fall ya'll! This is absolutely my most favorite season of the year. I can't believe the changes in my life since this time last year! Jackson is growing in so many ways. He is such a talker...can't imagine where he got that from. He is a busy little bee...but he is also one of the cuddliest little kids! He is crawling and pulling up like a wild man! Here he is getting into the cabinet. He thinks it is so funny!
We went to the county fair this weekend, which Jackson loved. He and his cousins had a ball looking at all the lights and especially the animals.

One of his most favorite things to do is play in the grass. This picture was taken on Sunday after church. He literally almost jumps out of my arms to play in the grass. He looks like such a big boy. I can't believe he will be one at the end of this week. We will definately have more pictures to come from his birthday party!

Also, please continue to pray for Mark and Stacy. They will be taking their test for licensure to teach on Saturday.

A weekend getaway

Mark, Jackson, and I had our last weekend away before I start working full time (4 days a week) next week. We rented a cabin in Blue Ridge and stayed a few days. It was a great family time just to re-group.We spent lots of time in our PJ's and enjoyed swinging in the hammock.
On Friday my mom brought my grandparents and Jase up for the day. We went to our favorite orchard, had lunch, and then spent the rest of the day sitting by the river. I think it was a sweet time for Ma and Papa.
Nee had a great time with her boys too, as usual!

The scenic Blue Ridge railway was right in front of the river, in front of our cabin. Jase loved seeing the train go by, after all that is what his beloved "Pop" drives!
I am so thankful for our family and the close-knit relationships that we have. God has blessed us in so many ways!

He CRAWLS at last!

Yes, can you believe it? Jackson is finally crawling. He is slowly becoming more agile. He definitely got his coordination from his momma's side of the family. (Steph you can understand that after seeing me try to perform cheer leading cheers in college.heehee) Anyway, Jackson is still very content. He only crawls if he really really wants something..like food or the remote control.

He is such a big boy. I can't believe he is 10 1/2 months old!

He is definitely all boy. He loves anything with wheels. He comes by it honest.
Here is Jackson with his cousin Jase. They are racing...according to Jase.
I had to throw this in. This is after devouring some of his favorites, peas and sweet potatoes. Usually dinner time transitions perfectly into bath time!

Just a side note, Mark is doing really well in school. He is in his last fall semester. Please pray for his endurance as he completes his degree and for guidance in order to know what direction he should go after graduation...what grade to teach...grad school?

Labor Day, Birthday!

I realize I'm running a little bit late with this blog from the labor day weekend, but we've all been under the weather for the past week. Thankfully we are on the mend. Anyway, what a great Labor Day weekend. It started off with three new additions to our family: Salvador, Sanchez, and Sarita. Our new fainting goat additions. They are possibly the cutest baby animals ever! On Friday, my wonderful husband of 7 years took me to the Bluff View Inn for my birthday. We had italian food at Tony's on Friday night, walked across the Walnut street bridge, and then topped it off with a trip to Clumpies for ice cream of course. We stayed at the Maclellan house in the art distric which is right over the river. It was great. And then Saturday we ate an awesome breakfast and headed home (can you tell how to win me over...food!!!haha) Saturday night my family had a big meal for me at Lesli and Jason's. All of our friends and their kids were there. We watched the dawgs sitting out under the big oak trees on the farm. It was one of my most favorite nights! This is Jackson, Mark and Nolan Barton and Landen Talley on the boodin'boodin' aka four wheeler. This is our goofy friend Jeremy Talley with a much too small helmet on after the dawgs scored. we love you Jeremy.heehee And of course Jackson had to be decked out in his red and black. It suits him well. What a fun weekend!

Teeth!

We have teeth! Jackson is now the proud owner of two baby teeth (on the bottom row). I had to bribe him with oatmeal for him to open his mouth wide enough.

Here is dad, Jase and Jackson. For the past year and a half, every weekday my dad takes Jase to Burger Den for breakfast and then on some sort of excursion- to the Tunnel Hill Barber shop, the hardware store, or the covered bridge. Jackson got to ride along on this day. He was tickled to be with his "Pop" and Jase.

This is just a random shot of Jackson playing in his nursery. I just thought it was funny to see the similar hair-styles!haha! Play time with mommy and his favorite tractor. He's all boy, that's for sure.

Fun with family and friends

Mid July we had our quarterly family celebration of birthdays. This is Jackson and his cousins, on my side, enjoying Ma's garden. Jase and Evie are two peas in a pod. They take care of their younger cousin! We are looking forward to the new addition to Jase's family, a baby girl from China!

Also just wanted to say thanks to those of you that were praying for Mark and the mens group from church that served in the inner city of Chicago. For those of you that did not know, Mark and two other youth leaders took four middle school boys to the South side of Chicago to help repair a house and volunteer at Sunshine Gospel Ministries. God was so good. Not only did He provide protection, but the guys felt as though His hand was guiding them and providing divine appointments on a daily basis. This was a great trip for ministering to many and tons of spiritual growth!

Here are the leaders and youth that took the trip with Mark.

front row-Parker, Brody, Hank, Patton

back row- Tyson (youth pastor), Mark, David

Here are some the kiddos that they met at Sunshine ministries.

This is Shataria and her little brother. Shataria lives in Chicago, but she is like a daughter to our youth pastor and his family, not to mention very precious to us. Pray for her and her family. She will be flying to GA in August to spend a year with Tyson and his family so that she can attend school while experiencing a loving, Christ-centered family environment.

July 4th at the lake

What a fun fourth with family! Mark, Jackson and I spent a few days at the lakehouse with the extended Beckler family. We ate like pigs and enjoyed catching up with everyone. Jackson also got to enjoy some time with his twin cousins Will and Charlie. These are the most precious babies. They are such miracles. They were born early at 27 weeks, but they are doing great now at 5 months of age. Jackson has a hard time keeping his hands off of them...as we all do!

There were babies everywhere! This is Bryan, Jaime, Mark and all three babies on the dock. It was a fun relaxing week.

SuperWow week

Hello everyone, we have just returned from a fun-filled week at Superwow. Mark, Jackson, my mom and myself, along with three other youth leaders ,from our church, took 17 kids to Ft. Walton Beach, FL. It was such a great trip- just reminding us of our purpose in Jesus Christ. God is really working on our family. Please pray for us as we seek God's guidance.

Jackson had his picture made with Brock Gill. He is a Christian illusionist. We loved him. Jackson was pretty fond of him too!

Here are some of my girls from Superwow. They were awesome! (Joanna, Amy, Me, Brittany, Claire, and Kim)

These are the guys from Mark's room. (Parker, Patton, Carson, Mark, and Brodie)

This was also Jackson's first trip to the beach. He loved the ocean, crying when we took him out! He turned 8 months old this week. I can't believe it. He still has no desire to crawl-which I am actually okay with-he'll get there soon enough, knowing that my life will never slow down at that point. haha. Hopefully we are going to the lake for the fourth so I hope to have another post in a few days.